Normally, when you’re first notice hearing loss (no matter the type), the first thing you should do is attempt to limit the damage. After all, you can take some simple steps to avoid additional damage and safeguard your ears.
Step 1: Clean Your Ears
Remember learning to make sure you clean behind your ears when you learned basic hygiene (or at least should have learned). When it comes to hearing health, however, we’re not concerned with the areas behind your ears, but rather your inner ears.
There are several ways that keeping your ears clear of wax can help your hearing:
- Earwax buildup also inhibits the functionality of your hearing aid if you have one. You may end up feeling like your hearing is going downhill because of this.
- Your ability to hear can also be interfered with if you get a severe ear infection which can also be a result of dirty ears. Your hearing will go back to normal after the ear infection clears.
- Your brain and ability to interpret sound will inevitably be affected by untreated hearing loss.
- Sound can be blocked from getting into the inner ear when there’s too much wax accumulation. Consequently, your ability to hear becomes diminished.
You never turn to the use of a cotton swab to attempt to dig out excess earwax. Added damage can be caused by cotton swabs and they will often make it even harder to hear. Over the counter ear drops are a smarter opinion.
Step 2: Avoid Loud Noises
This one is so instinctive it almost shouldn’t be listed. But knowing how loud is too loud is the real difficulty for most individuals. Over an extended period of time, for instance, your ears can be damaged by driving on a busy highway. Also, believe it or not, your lawn mower can take a toll on your ears. As you can see, it’s not just blasting speakers or loud rock concerts that damage your ears.
Here are some ways to stay away from damaging noise:
- Utilizing an app on your phone to notify you when decibel levels reach harmful levels.
- When you can’t steer clear of loud environments, wear hearing protection. Does your job put you on the floor of a noisy manufacturing plant? Going to a rock concert? That’s cool. Just wear the necessary ear protection. A perfect illustration would be earplugs or earmuffs.
- When you’re listening to music or watching videos keep your headphone volume at a manageable level. Most phones feature built-in alerts when you’re nearing a dangerous level.
Damage to the ears from noise doesn’t happen suddenly, it progresses slowly. So, even if your hearing “feels” good after a loud event, it may not be. Only a hearing professional can give your hearing a clean bill of health.
Step #3: If You Have Any Hearing Loss – Get it Treated
Hearing impairment accumulates generally speaking. So catching any damage early on will help prevent additional injury. So in terms of slowing down hearing loss, treatment is so important. Your hearing will get the greatest benefit if you find and follow through on effective treatment.
Here’s how treatments work:
- The chance of developing hearing loss related health issues is reduced by using hearing aids because they prevent social solitude and brain strain.
- Some, but not all damage can be prevented by using hearing aids. For instance, hearing aids will prevent you from cranking your television volume up so loud it harms your ears. Because hearing aids counter this damage, they can also stop further decline of your hearing.
- We can give individualized guidelines and advice to help you avoid further damage to your ears.
Decreasing Hearing Loss Will Benefit You in The Future
While it’s true that there’s no cure for hearing loss, getting treatment for your hearing loss will help stop additional damage. One of the primary ways to do that, in many situations, is hearing aids. Getting the correct treatment will not only stop additional damage but also keep your present hearing level intact.
When you use hearing protection, exercise good hygiene, and obtain hearing loss treatment, you’re taking the appropriate steps to limit hearing loss while also giving yourself the best opportunity for healthy hearing in the future.